Peace and Myakka River Water Quality Summary 2002 - Southwest ...

For this study, annual average WQI values were calculated using five parameters(turbidity, total suspended solids, total organic carbon, nitrate+nitrite nitrogen, and totalnitrogen). A total of 58 annual average WQI values were calculated for the 16 stationssampled during water years 1998 - 2001 (Table 2).The Saddle Creek at Structure P-11 station, which is located immediately downstreamfrom Lake Hancock in the upper Peace River basin, exhibited the poorest water qualityamong the sites sampled, falling in the 75th to 95th percentiles of Florida streams formost parameters in each year of monitoring (Table 2).Other sites at which “poor” water quality conditions were observed included:• Peace Creek Canal near Wahneta (in water years 1998 and 1999),• Peace River at Bartow (1998, 1999)• Peace River at Ft. Meade (1998)• Peace River at Zolfo Springs (1998)• Peace River at Arcadia (1998)• Big Slough Canal near Myakka City (2000).Two sites exhibited consistently “good” water quality based on the WQI:• Shell Creek near Punta Gorda (1998-2001)• Myakka River at Myakka City (1999-2001).“Good” water quality conditions were also found during one or more years at thefollowing stations:• Myakka River near Sarasota (1999, 2000)• Deer Prairie Slough near North Port (1999)• Peace River at Ft. Meade (2000)• Peace River at Arcadia (2000)• Charlie Creek near Gardner (2000)• Horse Creek near Myakka Head (1999)• Horse Creek near Arcadia (1999).The remaining stations and years would be characterized as “fair” based on the WQI.2.4 EXCEEDANCES OF STATE WATER QUALITY STANDARDSAlthough WQI values are helpful in providing an easily-understandable summary ofgeneral water quality conditions, they are calculated using a limited number ofparameters and must be interpreted with care. A more detailed examination ofmonitoring data, focusing on additional parameters, can also be helpful to identify waterquality issues that may go unnoticed in an analysis based on WQI values alone.The State of Florida has adopted water quality standards (summarized in Ch. 62-302,Florida Administrative Code) for a number of water quality constituents, in order tomaintain productive populations of fish and wildlife and protect human health. In somecases these standards may be exceeded due to natural factors, and exceedances of11